Work Truck Magazine, December 2018

28 WORK TRUCK DECEMBER 2018 IN OCTOBER Merchants Fleet Management announced the launch of a new light duty all wheel drive truck rental program Designed to serve fleets that need to scale up or down intermittently or seasonally the program is now available nationwide It allows for unlimited mileage off road use and custom upfitting with no minimum lease term Tax title and maintenance are included Work Truck met with John Cail a 30 year fleet and rental industry veteran who serves as vice president of mobility for Merchants to learn more WT What was the genesis of the truck rental program CAIL Its really very similar to our first mobility offerings but filling more short term project based needs typically six 10 or 12 months at a time We have been leasing trucks to customers for many years but never pulled it together in an all inclusive national program The genesis was the need to be a single source for truck leasing services and now rentals as well WT Is there any reluctance on the part of fleets to pay what must be a higher average monthly rate CAIL Certainly the cost per month is more expensive than a long term lease But the use is the key What were hearing in the energy space for example is as oil prices drop demand for gas exploration also drops Our customers who manage projects that start up and then stop typically in the six to 12 month range they like to have the ability to scale their fleet within a few days Our truck rental program now allows them to do that without being exposed to overvalued vehicles It works for expansion as well The traditional order to delivery time for a new truck is somewhere in the 12 to 16 week range Some fleets have a need in the next 30 days We can make vehicles available at your site in a week or two WT Aside from the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and 2500HD are other models available through the program CAIL We do have Ford and Ram trucks available as well We wanted to start by filling the ton needs first including the five or six person capacity you get in the 1500 2500HD and 3500HD We are finding quite a few of our customers are looking to rent heavy duty vehicles including bucket trucks We will work to continue to expand on our offerings based on the needs of our customers CAIL MERCHANTS FLEET MANAGEMENTand the demands of the market WT Whats the appeal for vocational fleets CAIL Heres a real life example One of our customers is an agriculture company in the Midwest They have ownership of their fleet and Merchants supports it with our maintenance and fuel programs Each summer they need pickups for the 20 interns they hire for six months The unlimited mileage factor is big for them Another client of ours was hired to run pipeline on a third shift They love the fact they can get a full crew cab configuration an 8 foot bed diesel engine and maxed out towing capacity And they can be upfitted with toolboxes and caps WT How will you know whether the program is a success CAIL Our goal for the program is to fulfill all the fleet needs for our current clients while providing new offerings that will attract new clients to Merchants Well know a year from now if weve done a good job WT A new program from Merchants Fleet Management offers trucks such as the Chevrolet Silverado for rent to fleets with immediate and short term needs Inside MERCHANTS TRUCK RENTAL PROGRAM MERCHANTS FLEET MANAGEMENT NOW OFFERS RENTAL TRUCKS WITH NO MINIMUM TERM FOR FLEETS THAT NEED TO SCALE UP OR DOWN QUICKLY FOR PROJECT BASED OR SEASONAL WORK By Tariq Kamal PHOTO GENERAL MOTORS

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